Birmingham 1990 Proposed Extension
Circuit info:
- Circuit length:
- 3.000 miles/4.828 km
- Circuit type:
- Temporary street course
Circuit history:
Britain's only contemporary street racing circuit burst onto the scene in 1986, apparently from out of nowhere. In reality the event had taken years of planning before coming finally to fruition.
The idea of hosting a race around the streets of Britain's second city was first mooted way back in 1970 by former sporscar racer Martin Hone as a way of improving the largly industrial city's image.
The at-first sceptical city and county councils began to see the potential when a series of demonstration events were held on a 2.1 mile circuit for a 14-day festival of motorsport. The cars crept round at no more than 30mph - any faster and they would have broken the still-in-force speed limit!
Further demonstration events featuring contemporary Formula One cars - and indeed star names such as Moss, Scheckter, Hunt and Bell - were held in the late '70s and early-1980s.
The impetus for a proper race didn't come until November 1984, however, when the Birmingham Road Racing Bill was passed by Parliament. The reality of high-speed racing returning to the nation's streets was just around the corner.
Much to Hone's surprise, the city council decided to put the contract to run the first race out to tender. Despite his years of expertise in laying on events in Birmingham (and organising another street race in Dubai) Hone was not successful, and was left to watch his 'baby' brought into the world by foster parents.
The inaugral Birmingham Superprix - a round of the FIA Formula 3000 Championship - was thus staged by sports marketing company CSS and the BRSCC on Sunday, August 24, 1986.
High hopes that the event could establish Birmingham as the 'Monaco of the Midlands' proved a little far-fetched, but the race was popular with the crowds, if perhaps not with team members who had to work in the tight confines of the forecourt of Bristol Street Motors.
Proceedings got off to a faltering start when all of the barriers had to be checked after rumours circulated that locals had removed some of the bolts. The race itself was not helped by the simultaneous arrival of Hurricane Charley, which helpfully brought along some truly appaling weather conditions, shorted out the starting lights and caused an aborted start.
When the race finally got under way, there was inevitable carnage and a battle-scarred Luis Perez Sala was declared the winner (minus his nosecone) after Andrew Gilbert-Scott's Lola hit another crashed car and blocked the track. The race was abandoned after 24 of the scheduled 51 laps with half-points awarded.
Future runnings enjoyed better weather and fewer organisational hiccups, but the carnage was just as frequent a factor as before. The 1988 race saw David Hunt (brother of World Champion James) launch himself over the barriers, embedding his Lola into the brick wall of the building behind, several feet off the ground. Happily he emerged unscathed, if a little dazed.
However, it wasn't the on-track antics of the racers that spelt doom for the event. Instead rising costs and the fact that the number of paying spectators had hit a ceiling of around 50,000 conspired to convince the city council to put the event back up for tender after the 1990 race. The track also needed to be lengthened to meet international rules.
An extended circuit was drawn up (see link above), but in the end there were no bids for the tender and the streets of Birmingham reverberated to the sounds of racing engines no more. Proposals for a revived event are in the early stages with the City Council, however, so the story may not yet be fully complete.
